Obituary of Alice Mae Godin

Alice was born on December 4, 1918, near Claytonville, SK, a small settlement 20 miles north-west of Prince Albert.  She was the seventh of eleven children born to John Archibald Vandine and Mary Virginia Vandine (5 girls and 6 boys, 2 of whom died in infancy).  Her life got off to a very uncertain start; the great influenza epidemic that followed the end of World War 1 was raging across the country, and her mother became very ill.  On the advice of the midwife who had delivered Alice, she was sent to live with a couple living near Prince Albert while her mother recovered.  After a few months, the couple, who had no children, came to Alice’s parents with the request that they be allowed to adopt her.  Her father, a conservation officer and already with a large family, agreed to consider the idea.  Her mother, however, was adamant: “No one is taking my baby”.  And so, the course of her life was set.

She grew up a strong willed and determined little girl.  That determination almost cost her life on a bitterly cold morning in February 1926. Her father was away from home, and her mother had told the children that they would have to miss school until the weather improved.  But 7-year-old Alice loved school and hated to miss a day.  So, unheard by all but her brother Dow, 2 years older, she awoke early, dressed herself and prepared to set off for school, one and a half miles away.  Her brother, fearing for her safety but heeding her admonition to “Don’t wake Mama!”, reluctantly agreed to accompany her.  They very nearly did not make it.  Alice later said that she became exhausted, had given up and was ready to succumb to the cold, but her brother would not allow it.  He lifted her up and almost carried her the last half mile to the school, certainly saving her life, and preserving our family history!  The amazed teacher, after warming the near-frozen children and wrapping them in blankets, despatched 2 of the oldest boys in school with a team and sleigh to return them to their now frantic mother.  The near tragedy led the school unit to change their policy and close the schools during January and February and open them in July and August for a number of years.

As much as Alice enjoyed school, her formal education was largely curtailed when her father was transferred from their home at Strong Pine, east of Prince Albert, to a district south-east of what would become the village of Shipman.  With no school, nearby, she became self taught.  An avid reader, she developed an interest in the world beyond the small corner in which she lived, and interest she never lost.  Her life became one of hard work around her home and helping with the care of children of neighbors as well as nieces and nephews.  Then, at 16, she met a bachelor who lived a few miles north.  Laval Godin had left his family home near Henribourg at the age of 16 in 1924 and had worked around the province and in Ontario for several years.  With jobs disappearing during the Depression, he returned to Saskatchewan and began farming with his older brother also a bachelor, on a homestead two and a half miles south-east of Shipman in 1932.  Alice and Laval met at a dance in Shipman in 1935 and began “keeping company”, as it was then known.  Her parents thought she was too young for a serious relationship, but Laval eventually won them over.  After a lengthy courtship, they were married in April 1937, a few months after her 18th birthday.  So, began a marriage that would endure for 65 years, until Laval’s passing 2002. The first few years were not without difficulty for a young bride.  Though she could round up cattle and milk a cow at age 8. Her experience in the kitchen was somewhat limited.  “My mother had shown me how to bake bread, and I could boil potatoes”, she said, “but that was about it”.  Imagine the fear she must have felt when, after a few months of marriage, she was faced with the prospect of feeding a threshing crew of a dozen men.  But she was never afraid to take on any task, and with the help of a young friend, she got take on any task, and with the help of a young friend, she got the job done.  As she later observed, “no one died, so I must have done OK”.

Their only child, son Lyle, was born in 1941, further straining the capacity of their tiny 2-room house.  Finally, in the spring of 1945, Laval achieved his dream of a better home for his small family.  With the mostly volunteer help of an old family friend a carpenter from Henribourg, they built a 2-storey house, complete with basement, where the family members.  Alice, with Laval’s help, worked tirelessly to repair and renovate their new house, and make it into the happy home where she spent the rest of her life.

During their years in Choiceland, they returned to B.C. every summer to visit family members and to work on home construction with her sister Chris and brother-in-law Rusty Haines.  Notable among their jobs was the building of 2 large log homes, including a massive one for the owners of the famous Gang Ranch.  These were among the happiest times of Alice’s life and helped lessen the pain of leaving their home on the farm.

One of the most abiding pleasures and passions of Alice’s life was that of politics.  Just prior to her first voting opportunity, the provincial election of 1940, she and Laval were on their way to the polls, He stopped the horse and buggy and asked her how she planned to vote.  Without hesitation, she replied “I like the new party, the CCF.  I like their ideas, and how they talk about helping poor people, which the other partied don’t seem to do.”  Laval, raised in a staunchly Liberal family from Quebec, could only shake his head, knowing there was no way he was going to change her mind.  Instead, it was he who will later change his, and they both celebrated the rise of the power in 1944.  She never missed an election for 76 years, often working at the polls, and was unwavering in her loyalty and support for her chosen party, even after her idol, Tommy Douglas, left Saskatchewan to lead the NDP in 1961.

Alice showed her compassion and determination in many ways.  While on the farm in the 1950’s, she was told by her son about a neighbor family whose children were not attending school.  She visited them and the parents reluctantly admitted that they could not afford to buy clothing or school supplies.   She immediately went to the local RM Council to seek assistance for the family, but was refused “Once you get these people on welfare, you’ll never get them off”.  She was told.  Undaunted, she wrote to her then CCF MLA in Regina, describing the family and their plight.  She was overjoyed when a huge parcel arrived on the train from Regina addressed to her.  Inside were clothing and footwear for the entire family, school supplies, and even household supplies.  She delivered the parcel, fearing that the parents might be angry at having their lives made public.  Instead, she was treated like the hero, or heroine that she was, even being forced to choose something from the box – she chose an apron.  She was truly an example of how a seemingly ordinary person can live an extraordinary life.

Alice was predeceased by her husband and life partner of 65 years, Laval, in 2002, and by Walter Long in 2007. She was also the last surviving member of her original family.  Most recently, she lost her beloved sister and best friend for 95 years, Chris Haines, in October 2016.  Both had often said they did not wish to live long in a world without the other, and their wish has now been granted.

Alice is survived by her son Lyle of Choiceland, and by Virginia Long (wife of Walter) of Lloydminster, SK.  Also, left to cherish her memory are Virginia’s children Glenn Long, Bridget Glover, and Laura Long, all of Lloydminster, AB, and by their children and grandchildren, to all of whom she was grandmother, great and great-great grandmother, friend confidante, and by her many nieces and nephews.  She loved us all and was dearly loved in return. 

Mother, I won't ask you to rest in peace, All of us who knew you also know that resting is something you would never willingly do.  You will find things that need to be done, even in Heaven, and will not rest until they are done.  I will make one last, small request.  After all, your joyous reunions in have taken place, and that will take some time, please take a little time to put in a good word for those of us left behind, so that we can be assured of seeing you again.

Go with God, Mother.  We Love You.